West Nile kills metro Atlanta woman

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — Health officials say the death of a 78-year-old woman in Gwinnett County is the most recent person to die in Georgia this year after contracting the West Nile virus.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the case is one of four deaths out of 44 cases so far this year in Georgia attributed to the mosquito-borne illness.

Officials say two other deaths were in Dougherty County, and one was in Early County.

Karen Shields, a spokeswoman for the Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale County Health Departments, tells The Gwinnett Daily Post that the 78-year-old woman died after being hospitalized. Few other details on her death were released Thursday.